The Easy Yoke

1. “Come unto me, all you who suffer and who are overburdened, and I will comfort you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me that I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)

2. All types of suffering – misery, disappointment, physical pain, loss of loved ones – find their consolation in faith in the future and in trust in God’s justice, which Christ came to teach humankind. On the other hand, upon those who expect nothing after this life, or who simply doubt, afflictions bear down with all their weight and no hope comes to soften their bitterness. This is what led Jesus to say, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and I will comfort you.”

Nevertheless, Jesus places one condition on the assistance and happiness he promises to the afflicted. That condition is found in the law that he teaches. His yoke is the observance of that law, but this yoke is easy and the law is gentle, since it imposes love and charity as a duty.